For those left behind after OD, the pain continues

Saturday

In the six months since Katie Saxby died of a drug overdose, her baby has taken her first steps and spoken her first words.

In the six months since Katie Saxby died of a drug overdose, her baby has taken her first steps and spoken her first words.

Breonna Lynn Stella Newell, whom Katie had nicknamed Chunky Munk because of all her baby fat, was only 8 months old when her mother died from a heroin overdose on July 15.

Breonna can now toddle around the house all by herself. Her babble has turned into a few first words — “kitty cat” and “no,” reports her grandfather, Mark Saxby Sr.
Katie’s mother, Susan Oberdorf, marvels at her grandbaby’s growth.

“She went from a chubby, roly-poly baby to trucking around like a mad woman,” she laughed. “Everything she does is like Katie. She’s got Katie’s mannerisms, her attitude. She is very bubbly and happy, just like (Katie) was.”

Breonna wasn’t the only family member to mark milestones after Katie Saxby’s death.
One of her brothers, Robby Saxby, has joined the Army. His dad, Mark Saxby, says there's a good chance he will be sent to Iraq when he's finished training.

“He’s looking for a future — a permanent, healthy future,” he said.

Another brother, Mark Saxby Jr., is behind bars, convicted of selling marijuana. He tells his family he wants to turn his life around when he gets out.

“He made a mistake, and he’s paying for it,” his mother said.

And a man from Manchester, Carl Erb Jr., who once lived near Katie and her mother in Canandaigua, has been charged in Katie’s death. He is accused of not seeking medical help for her when she overdosed in his car during a drive from Rochester to Canandaigua the night of July 14. Instead, police allege, he left her lying unconscious by the side of a road in the Saltonstall Street mobile home park in Canandaigua, where Katie’s mother was staying.

A lot has happened since Katie died. What has not changed, though, is the tide of grief for those who loved her.

“I have good days and bad days,” said Mark Saxby Sr., who plans to start counseling soon to help in the grieving process and bring some of his anger in check. “I really need to get some of this off my chest.”

Saxby moved his family from a cramped apartment on Atwater Street to a house in Naples weeks after Katie died.

“There are days I have to take a deep breath and walk away from something or somebody,” he said. “I'm trying to keep that controlled.”

Oberdorf knows the feeling.

“It’s hard on all of us,” she said. “There are days that I don’t quit crying.”

Robert and Tina Bailey of Palmyra are familiar with that pain. Their son, Michael Bailey, died Dec. 2, 2006, from a lethal combination of cocaine and prescription painkillers. He was at his girlfriend’s apartment in Camelot Court in Canandaigua.

The calls keep coming

Michael and Katie were profiled in a three-part Messenger series that examined the increasing prevalence of drugs, particularly heroin, in this area and the pain of those left behind when someone dies from an overdose.

The series, which ran over three days in September, reported that between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2007, an Ontario County sheriff's deputy or state trooper had been dispatched to 44 reported drug or alcohol overdoses. During the same period, police in Wayne County were sent to 47 reported overdoses. There were an additional 22 overdose reports in Wayne County from Aug. 1 to Sept. 6.

Police estimate as many as a dozen deaths due to drug overdoses each year in Ontario County alone. Authorities said they aren't aware of any drug deaths since the series ran, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any: There isn’t an accurate count of how many people die from overdoses because the deaths sometimes occur at hospitals and the police are not called. In those cases, patient privacy laws prohibit the release of information, even to police.

Lt. William Gallagher of the Ontario County sheriff's office said 911 fielded 30 overdose calls from Sept. 10 to Dec. 10. Seven of those calls were in the city of Canandaigua.
It’s unusual that someone is charged after a fatal drug overdose. People with the victim are often reluctant to cooperate with police, and it’s hard to track down the exact source of the drugs.

City police in October charged Erb with second-degree manslaughter for allegedly causing Katie’s death by leaving her unconscious by the side of the road rather than seeking medical treatment that could have saved her life.

Erb’s arrest devastated his family.

"It's just so unbelievable,” said his sister, Karen Myers, immediately after the arrest. “We're wondering why he's being charged when there's some sort of drug pusher out there that got her the drugs. I just feel like this is a total injustice."

For different reasons, it was also a tough blow to Katie's loved ones, some of whom previously thought she had passed out while walking to her mother’s trailer. Knowing that there was a chance she could have lived “made it harder for me,” her father said. “I think I could have taken it easier if she just got out of the and car and collapsed when the guy left.”

Bittersweet holidays

Meanwhile, in Palmyra, the Baileys continue to try and find out as much as they can about Michael’s final hours: He was in a car crash shortly before he died and he had been partying with friends.

Like Katie’s loved ones, the Bailey family finds momentous occasions bittersweet because Michael isn’t there to enjoy them.

Like little Breonna Lynn, Michael’s nephew, Bailey, now 17 months old, has begun to speak and toddle around. He will soon have a new sibling, as his mom, Michael’s sister Stephanie, is pregnant. Michael’s other sister, Bethany, is also due to have a child, a baby girl she will name Mikiah after her brother.

On Dec. 2, the anniversary of Michael's death, his parents hosted a small gathering of relatives and some of his closest friends.

“We wanted to remember him,” said his mother, Tina, adding that it was also a way to help the family get through the tough day.

Several of those who attended brought ornaments to hang on a memorial Christmas tree set up inside the family's Parker Road home. Outside, a large pine tree was lit up in his honor and helium-filled balloons were released into the freezing sky, some bearing messages to Michael such as “miss you.”

Jessica Pierce can be reached at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 250, or at jpierce@mpnewspapers.com.

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